Private Capital Paralegal

Clarke Willmott Llp; Taunton; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Clarke Willmott LLP in Taunton is seeking a Paralegal to join the Private Capital Team, supporting lifetime planning, probate and court of protection work for a clientele of high-net-worth individuals, agricultural clients and trusts.

You will assist a Partner and Associate, handle wills, powers of attorney, farm partnerships and complex estate planning, with opportunities to travel to other offices in England and Wales as needed.

Qualifications

• Experience in private client work is desirable but not essential.
• Strong organisational and communication skills are required.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and case management IT systems.

Responsibilities

• Advising and drafting wills and trust structures for private clients.
• Advising on reliefs and exemptions from inheritance tax and capital gains tax.
• Drafting and registering Lasting Powers of Attorney and Enduring Powers of Attorney.
• Drafting farming partnerships and advising on complex estate planning.
• Assisting on probate administration and related matters.

Skills

Private client experience

Wills & trusts

Organisation skills

Communication skills

Job description

About The Role

We are looking for a Paralegal to join our Private Capital Team in Taunton. You will assist the team with managing their broad and exciting caseload of lifetime planning, probate and court of protection work.

Our client base includes a spectrum of high-net worth individuals, agricultural clients, trustees, landed estates and charities.

We have been providing high quality private client advice for over 100 years and we remain at the forefront of the sector, being described as “one of the strongest firms for private client”, in Chambers and Partners. The team has an agricultural focus and this is a unique opportunity to join and be instrumental to the growth of our team. Whilst predominately based in the Taunton office, there will be opportunities to work from the Southampton and London offices if the occasion arises.

Day to day, you’ll be successful in this role by:

Providing high quality and pro-active support, you will have a varied workload and be adept at organisational skills, managing your own time and juggling priorities accordingly.

You will advise and primarily support one of the Partners and an Associate as well as the wider team on a variety of matters. This will include:

• Advising and drafting wills and trust structures;
• Advising on the availability of reliefs and exemptions from inheritance tax and capital gains tax;
• Drafting and registering Lasting Powers of Attorney;
• Advising on Enduring Powers of Attorney;
• Drafting Farming Partnerships;
• Assisting on advising on complex estate planning; and
• Assisting on some probate administration;

This is a great opportunity to advance your career in lifetime planning work where you will have the opportunity to meet and liaise with clients directly and lead on smaller matters.

As a well-established team that wants to build on our sustainable growth, there will be lots of training, guidance and support to assist you in developing your knowledge and experience with this complex area of law as well as your own relationships with clients.

As part of the agricultural sector, you will advise a spectrum of agricultural private clients, trustees, landed estates on private capital matters.

Our clients are based through England and Wales and beyond. You will need to travel from time to time, both for business development purposes and to meet with clients at their homes or at our other offices in England and Wales.

It is an integral part of this role that you comply with information security and all firm policies and procedures.

The role is right for you if:

To be successful in this role, you may have previous experience working within private client but this is not essential. You will provide high-level support to the team, pre-empting the needs of fee earners and clients as much as possible.

We expect you to be someone who takes pride in your work and in providing a first-class service at all times, anticipating our clients’ needs in advance wherever possible, and paying meticulous attention to detail in all of your work.

You will have excellent communication skills, impeccable spelling and grammar, and be proficient with the usual Microsoft packages, including Excel and PowerPoint. We use a variety of different software packages here and so you need to be comfortable with learning new databases and bespoke IT systems.

You will have regular one-to-one contact with our clients, so you will be professional and credible, with integrity and the ability to build rapport with clients.

You will need to be willing to participate in business development activities and engage proactively with clients and key referrers.

Finally, we are looking for someone who can demonstrate initiative and problem-solving skills, with a willingness to learn and develop, which will help you thrive in this role.

About Us

Who we are

You’ll be joining a national law firm that enjoys a strong reputation, made possible by our exceptional people - each chosen for their industry knowledge and passion for their field. We want to help you to reach your full potential, love the work you do and deliver the best results for your clients. It’s our goal to make you feel great about working with us, and we work hard to cultivate a culture that makes it easy for you to stay with us for many years.

What we can offer you

A career at Clarke Willmott will feel different to other law firms. We thrive on our individual differences and diversity because as a team, we are united by our shared values and mutual respect. Working with us you will feel empowered, valued and free to be yourself in a safe and supportive environment.

Our mission is to help you realise your full potential whilst maintaining a positive work-life balance. We provide a comprehensive learning and development programme and a range of wellbeing initiatives to support your career journey.

There’s no doubt we expect the best from our people and even the occasional extra mile. In return, your dedication and commitment to the continued success of the firm will be rewarded with a comprehensive range of flexible benefits.